Blog Posts - TheNewU

CONTENT WITH WEAKNESS

3/5/2023

March 5, 2023 CONTENT WITH WEAKNESS
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, I am strong.”
Isaiah 40:29 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet He did not sin”
Most do all they can to avoid appearing to be weak in any area of life; in our culture, having a broad knowledge, be skilled, being winsome, and being in control is greatly admired. There is nothing innately wrong with these in and off themselves-but if we trust in these traits or if they are our main pursuit in life, then we are in error. Do not misunderstand, it is a good thing to pursue excellence and to be skilled in what we do, and to grow in knowledge. However, we must not miss the point that it is through our weaknesses that Christ perfects His power. We all have weaknesses; rather than being ashamed about our weaknesses, let us boast in our weaknesses because Christ works through our weaknesses. When we do boast in our weaknesses as Paul did, Christ is glorified; if we act from our strength, then we take the credit for what we did. To say it again, everyone who is breathing has weaknesses; but God works through our weaknesses. When we understand this truth, we can indeed boast in our weaknesses. I recently heard a message entitled “The Value of Flaws.” We all have flaws; in fact most if not all of the biblical figures had flaws. The point was that even though we have flaws, even though we have failed and made bad decisions, even thought our past may be terrible, even if we have physical limitations, let us give our lives-flaws and all-to God and to what He wants to do in and through us; do not let our flaws and weaknesses be an excuse not to serve God with all of our hearts. It is amazing, but embracing our weaknesses and flaws takes the pressure off! We are not perfect; but God is at work in us, transforming us and maturing us, but in the process, He works through our weaknesses in order that He may be glorified. So, improve where you can, but be ok with your weaknesses; do not be ashamed of them and do not try to hide them and pretend to have it all together in every area of life. Yield all of you to the Lord and watch Him work. We serve an amazing God.
Psalm 121:1-2 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Blessings,
Buddy

BUILDING UP YOURSELF

3/3/2023

March 3, 2023 BUILDING UP YOURSELF
Jude 20-23 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference; and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”
We must not be content with not growing in the faith, and we must not have the view point that God does everything for us. Throughout the New Testament, we find scriptures that call us to be growing in the faith, to be becoming more like Christ, to be walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, and to take up the shield of faith and to be resisting our enemy. It is easy, and appealing, to live on a spiritual plateau-so we think; growth and change can be uncomfortable, perhaps even painful-we like our comfort zone. However, we are to be ‘building ourselves up in the faith;’ we must make the choice not to coast or be on auto-pilot on our spiritual journey. Essential aspects of our building ourselves up in the faith would include routinely reading God’s word; praying-talking to God; focusing our minds on the things of the Lord; renewing our minds; applying and living out the commands of God and the instructions of the scriptures; and being an active member of the body of Christ. Our motive in doing these things is not to gain God’s approval or earn His love; we do these things because He loves us and we belong to Him and it is our desire to please Him in all we do. There is benifit for us when we build ourselves up in the faith; we discover that walking the ways of the Lord fulfills our deepest longings-that is how God designed us. Certainly the world has many ways to distract us and to cause us to take our focus of the ways of God, but we are to keep ‘ourselves in the love of God.’ When we know in a personal way the love of God, it becomes our desire to grow in Him and to increase in the knowledge of Him. There is nothing that the world has to offer that can compare to knowing the love of God. Walking in His ways and having a priority of building ourselves up in the faith does not diminish our role and our responsibilities in the world; we are to do all we do as unto the Lord; we are to be faithful, to be honest, to be givers, to be gracious, and to have an attitude of serving and blessing others. Let us be spiritually alert, and let us be about building ourselves up in our most holy faith.
2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever.”
Blessings,
Buddy

BE STRONG

3/1/2023

March 1, 2023 BE STRONG
Ephesians 6:10-12 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
We are in a war; some may not realize that fact, but whether they know it or not, there is a war going on and it is not in a distant land-it’s taking place right where we live. There are physical wars taking place currently in certain parts of the world; but the greater war that believers face is a spiritual war. We have an enemy whose goal is to ‘steal, kill and destroy.’ John 10:10. In 1 Peter 5:8 we are instructed to “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” And in 2 Corinthians 11:14 we see that Satan masquerades as an angel of light. Satan’s primary weapon, his primary mode of war, is that of deception. Knowing that we have such an enemy, we must take to heart the above admonitions in Ephesians-and many other passages that are about spiritual warfare. The good news is that Christ defeated Satan and disarmed him; as we walk in the ways of God, as we live out of our new identity, we have victory over Satan. It is Satan’s tactic to get us to not walk and live according to the Spirit, but to walk according to our own understanding; he tempts us to pursue our way. We are normally tempted to commit some horrible deed, but we are more apt to be tempted to yield to our flesh in some ‘small’ way. Remember, Satan appears as an angel of light. In light of the spiritual warfare taking place, we must be strong in the Lord and we must put on the armor of God and stand against the wiles of our enemy. We do not fight in our own strength but we stand in the power of His might-He fights the battles-we stand. When we submit to God and we resist the devil, he flees from us. James 4:7. A lot could be said about spiritual warfare, but the basic truth is that we must have a heart that is turned to the Lord; be grounded in His word; know who we are in Him; be quick to obey Him; and be sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Finally, we must make the critical choice to walk according to the Spirit and not according to our flesh. We do not have to fear Satan for he is a defeated foe; God allows him to exist, but his days or numbered. The amazing truth is that God uses Satan to further His own purposes, one of which is that we are called to be overcomers of the powers of darkness-and that glorifies God. So, be strong in the Lord-in the power of His might.
Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
1 John 4:4 “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
Blessings,
Buddy

GOD - OUR FATHER

2/27/2023

February 27, 2023 GOD – OUR FATHER
Acts 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
From Psalms 139 “For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb.” “My frame was not hidden from Thee; when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thou book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”
One of the greatest life-changers ever is to come to know in the deepest part of our being that God is our real Father. For many years, as a believer, I fully believed in my mind that God was my Father; but one particular night, God revealed in my spirit that He was my Father-and how amazing that was. God used our earthly father and mother for our physical birth, and we can thank God for that, but God is our Father. God knew us eons before we were born physically, and not only did He know us even while we were still in our mother’s womb, He ‘formed our inward parts;’ He even saw our ‘unformed substance.’ We cannot fully grasp such wonderful truth and such amazing power-it’s beyond our comprehension. Sadly, many have unpleasant memories of their earthly father, and some do not even know their earthly father. Even though that is true, one can come to know their real Father who knows them and who loves them with an unfailing and unending love. (Briefly said-God knew us before the foundation of the world; He knew we would be born in sin; He sent Jesus to redeem and restore back to Himself-our true Father! He has been our Father all along. Jesus called us brothers-that’s who He came for!) I said above that truly knowing that God is our Father is a life-changer. That night when God let me see in my spirit that He was my real Father, I immediately had the thought that “What do I have to fear-I do not have to fear death, loss, bad health, bankruptcy-or you name it-not since the God who created the universe was MY FATHER. I came to know that no matter what I experience here on earth, my Father is watching over me and He is more than sufficient for anything I face. There is much freedom in truly knowing God as our Father. Perhaps you are like I was, believing with my mind that God was my Father; if so, read the scriptures that are about God being our Father, and ask God to somehow make it know to you in your spirit that He is indeed your real Father.
1 Corinthians 8:6 “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.”
Blessings,
Buddy

A LIVING LETTER

2/25/2023

February 25, 2023 A LIVING LETTER
2 Corinthians 3:2-3 “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
Hebrews 13:15-16 “Through Him, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
The life we are currently living is a letter being written; and our letter will be read by all. This letter is not written on occasion, but is continually being written 24/7. At one point in our life, we were separated from Christ; but now, if we have trusted Him as our Savior, we have been joined to Him and made a new creation. Because we have been joined to Him and have received the Holy Spirit and are now new creations with new natures, our life is far different from what it used to be. (It is true that a believer can revert back to living according to his old nature and live according to the flesh, thereby grieving the Holy Spirit-that is a choice one can make.) Our life is expressed through our action, by our responses, by our attitudes, by the words we speak, by our thoughts, by our priorities, by what motivates us, and by the spirit we project. It’s a great and accurate analogy to see the life we live as being a letter read by all. It is awesome to think that we are a ‘letter of Christ;’ our letter can be all about the greatness of our God and how He has forgiven us and made us new; our life can reflect the attributes of Christ. We are called to fight the good fight of faith; let us not neglect our calling, but be diligent in daily turning our hearts to the Lord and seeking to live in such a way that is pleasing to Him. We are now in Him, and He is in us; He is now our life. Let all we do, let the life we live flow out of who we are in Him. Our letter is being read today, and when we pass from this life, others will still be reading the letter we wrote with our life-the letter we left behind.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Blessings,
Buddy

AS WE THINK-SO ARE WE

2/23/2023

February 23, 2023 AS WE THINK – SO ARE WE
Proverbs 23:7a “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:”
2 Corinthians 10:5b “and we are taking ever thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Ephesians 4:23-24 “and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Philippians 4:8 “Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let you mind dwell on these things.
Everyone knows the power of thoughts. All action originates out of the mind. Even though we know, at least to some extent, how powerful the mind is, we often neglect, or fail to manage our thought life. The important truth we must embrace is that we must not allow our mind to be independent; our mind is to be directed by our spirit. In other words, we must tell our minds what to think. If we let our mind wander and go where it chooses, we err. Proverbs reveals an awesome truth when it says that we are what we think. The mind is to direct our spirit, but it is crucial that the Holy Spirit is directing and instructing our spirit. The mind, and how it works, is indeed amazing to say the least. Some say that we only use ten percent of our minds-that may or may not be true. Out of the mind can come expressions of evil or expressions of good. We can thank God that He has instructed us as to how we are to think and how we are to manage our minds; and His instructions are specific. In the verse above in 2 Corinthians, we are told to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ; we must choose to think thoughts that are in keeping with the nature of God. And here is the big deal-we must choose to think the right thoughts, even when circumstances are not what we desire, and when we don’t feel like thinking the right thoughts; often we have to go against our emotions. When we find ourselves being tempted to think in an incorrect and unhealthy way, we must at that moment be renewed in our mind and put on the new self-the new self thinks as God would have it to think. To think the right way is so much more than just being a ‘positive thinker.’ We all face difficulties, but even in the most difficult times our minds are to be reminding us that God is sufficient for whatever we face. The verse in Philippians gives us a good outline or guide as to what we are to let our minds dwell on-AND that list is doable! In light of how God has designed our minds, let us be diligent to manage our thought life; let us use our minds the way that God designed it to be used. The mind IS the battle ground.
Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Romans 8:6 “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Philippians 2:5 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”
Blessings,
Buddy

ARISE

2/21/2023

February 21, 2023 ARISE
Ephesians 5:8-10, 14-16 “for you were formerly darkness, but not you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light consist in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.” “For this reason it says ‘Awake sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
If we know the Lord as Savior and Redeemer, then we are not who we use to be-we are a new people; we are light in the Lord. A core message of the gospel is that because God has made us new, we are to live as those who have been delivered from darkness into His marvelous light. We have been joined to God, and now we can partake of His divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4. That means that we can-not be God-but be like Him in the life we live here on earth. The words we speak, the thoughts we think, the actions we take, the attitudes we adopt, and the spirit we project can all reflect the nature of God! Just as Paul did, we are to be doing the things that are pleasing to the Lord; we are not to ‘participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness.’ The above passage of scripture is a wake-up call for believers; we must not be found asleep on the job-on our calling; a genuine faith in God leads to a pro-active life. When we awake to the call of God and arise from our sleep, “Christ will shine on us.”(I don’t know about you, but I want Christ to shine on me-whatever that looks like.) We are to be careful how we walk; we are to walk as wise men and women, not following the ways of the world and not being distracted from what God has for us. So, let us awake and arise to the calling of God; let us being doing the things that are pleasing to Him; and let us live as the new creations that He has made us-and let His divine nature be expressed in and through us.
2 Peter 1:2-4 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificence promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
Blessings,
Buddy

RELATIONSHIPS

2/19/2023

February 19, 2023 RELATIONSHIPS
Galatians 5:13-17 “For you were called to freedom brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bit and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”
Whether in the family, the work place, the church, are socially, many experience conflict; and most conflicts arise out of selfish ambition. Believers can walk according to the flesh, or according to the Spirit. Walking according to the flesh leads to conflicts, dissentions and discord. We must live, remembering that we have two distinct possibilities; to live according to the Spirit within us, or live according to our flesh. Paul makes it clear that there is a battle that takes place within us; the flesh battles against the Spirit, and the Spirit battles against the flesh. The good news is that we do not have to yield to the flesh; we can die to our ways-to who we use to be-and yield to the Spirit. The power of sin has been broken; if we sin, we do so by choice. When we live by the Spirit, we will not carry out the deeds of the flesh. Christ has set us free, and we are not under law; however, in our freedom, we are to relate to others out of the love that God has poured out into our hearts-preferring and blessings others. Here is the mystery: when out of God’s love we serve and bless others, we are blessed and fulfilled more than if we go ‘our’ way and do ‘what we want to do.’ The ways of the flesh lead to death but the ways of the Spirit lead to life. There will always be many opportunities for us to respond in a wrong way, according to our flesh, but by living according to the Spirit and out of the love of God at work in us, we can respond in a way that honors God. If we love one another and serve one another, there will be peace in place of conflict-it’s just that simple.
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than your selves.”
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”
Colossians 3:13 “Bearing with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive.”
Blessings,
Buddy

BY THIS WE KNOW

2/16/2023

February 16, 2023 BY THIS WE KNOW
1 Peter 2:3-6 “And by this we know that we have become to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps is word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: but the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
These scriptures no doubt cause us to examine ourselves; and if misunderstood, can be condemning. This passage is not saying that we must be perfect and keep every commandment of God in order to know Him, and it’s not saying that we do not know Him if we fail in one commandment. (There are many admonitions in scripture to grow in our faith; not to walk in the flesh; and to confess our sins.) The red flag warning is that if one claims to know God and yet habitually ignores the commandments of God “is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” The clear message of this passage is about the power of the love of God; the love of God changes us from the inside out. We cannot experience the love of God and remain unchanged. Keeping the word of God is a by-product of knowing Him; and keeping His word is proof that the love of God has been perfected in the one who says he knows God. A sure tell-tell sign that we know God is that we keep His word. As alluded to above, there will be times when we fail in keeping His word, but the Spirit will bring it to our attention and we confess it and then continue in keeping His word. The absolutely amazing reality that we find here is that because we abide in Him, WE OUGHT TO WALK IN THE SAME MANNER AS HE WALKED! I think that many believers have a problem accepting this at face value; there is a tendency to say that we are heaven bound, but we are still human and the old sin nature is alive-I’m still a sinner. There is truth in that, but the underlying problem with such a belief is that of allowing sin to be a part of our everyday life. The liberating truth is that because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts, we ‘walk as He walked.’ How awesome is it that in our everyday life, we can respond as Jesus responded; we can be guided by love of God; we can be agents of hope and encouragement; we can live with purpose; we can comfort others; we can be conveyors of truth; and the list goes on. Let us discard the lie that says we cannot ‘be like Jesus’ in our conduct. We must ask ourselves ‘Has the love of God been perfected in us?’ If we are walking in His ways, then His love has been perfected in us.
1 John 4:16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.”
Blessings,
Buddy

JOY

2/14/2023

February 14, 2023                                                         JOY
Romans 15:13, 14:17 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”    “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.”
1 Peter 1:8, 30:11 “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”    “You have turned my mourning into dancing, you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.                                                                                                                                                            ”We hear a lot about how the current supply chain issues is affecting the availability of certain goods and services. (God has no supply chain issues; there is never a shortage in the kingdom of God!) Not related to this current supply chain problem, there certainly seems to be a shortage of joy. Yet, joy is one of the hallmarks of being a part of the kingdom of God; search the scriptures and you will be surprised how many joy verses you find. The joy we have as believers-the joy that is built into the kingdom of God-is not in any way dependent on circumstances. It’s true that we can and do celebrate with joy on those occasions when something great and good happens; but our joy is not to be dependent on ‘good things’ happening. The joy I am referring to is not self-manufactured; the joy of the Lord comes from Him; it is a by-product of knowing Him personally. If we are primarily focused on ourselves; if we are depending on our commitment and our best efforts to gain what we desire; if we do not know our true identity as sons and daughters of God; then we will not know and experience the joy of the Lord. Our posture is to be that of always seeking to know God in greater ways; of choosing to obey His word and to walk in His ways; of dying to ourselves; having our hope totally in God; and to be discovering who He says we are. Sometimes I find myself simply coasting through life, not really experiencing the joy of the Lord; but the Spirit is faithful to draw me back to the place where I experience the joy that only God can give. The word for us today is for us not just to live, or to survive, but to adjust our thinking, and be in tune with the work of the Spirit in us who is always drawing us to God; as we draw close to Him, we will experience His joy.
Psalm 16:8-9 “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells securely.”
Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”
Blessings,
Buddy